After more than 50 years of trying to find the perfect location for a new airport to replace Lisbon’s current Humberto Delgado Airport (AHD), the council of ministers finally made a decision on 14 May.
A cabinet for analysing the new airport possibilities was created in 1969, but the decision has been going back and forth ever since. In April 2023, 9 options were shortlisted for the new location. Although Campo de Tiro de Alcochete (Field Firing Range of Alcochete) featured on that list as a dual option, to work as an extension of AHD, in the end, it has been decided that, once completed, it will remain the only airport of the region.
The government sees having one single airport as a solution more suited to the country’s strategic interests.
Luis Montenegro, Portuguese Prime Minister
The option for a single airport makes it possible to mitigate the environmental and social impact in the Lisbon region, since the two-airport solution doubles the negative environmental effects and the single solution is located in areas with low population density, the Portuguese Government explained in a statement.
Named after the poet Luís de Camões, the new airport (NAL) will be located across the Tagus River from Lisbon. It will initially have only 2 runways, with a capacity of 90 to 95 movements (landings or take-offs) per hour, almost triple what AHD can currently accommodate with its one runway. At a later stage, the airport could be expanded to 4 runways, with the aim of having the capacity for an estimated 100 million passengers by 2050. This also takes into account TAP Air’s expansion plans, whose preliminary projections are 190-250 aircraft in 2050.
Although the first two runways are estimated to cost €3.2 and 2.9 million, respectively, Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz has earmarked the entire project at €9 billion. State budget will not however be used to build the airport, which will instead be financed through EU funds, public-private partnerships and airport tariffs.
At the same meeting, the government also decided to build a third bridge over the Tagus River, meant to “complement and improve the existing connections between the capital and the southernmost bank, which now has the prominence it deserves”, Pinto Luz said. Whether the new bridge, connecting the neighbourhoods of Chelas, on the northern side, and Barreiro, on the southern side, will only be for trains or allow vehicles as well is yet to be determined.
Tourism in Portugal reached record levels in the first quarter of 2024 and is set for a booming year altogether, so the tourism industry is looking forward to more passenger capacity. “I just hope this is a definitive decision and it won’t be called into question by other governments, something we have unfortunately seen in recent years”, said Francisco Calheiros, head of the Portuguese Tourism Confederation.
Although NAL will replace AHD when completed, in the meantime, AHD will still need to be expanded. The airport has been running above operational limits since 2018, leading to a departure punctuality of just 52.2% in 2022. With 39 million passengers projected for 2030, it is hoped that increasing the AHD’s capacity to 45 movements per hour will be enough to support the growing demand in the short term.
